Invulnerable
by Murasaki Kaida
Summary: HidaTema. Temari finds someone waiting in the shadows in Rain Country. Rated for Hidan's mouth.


Written for Aubreywitch at LJ the prompt of Hidan and Temari's first meeting. A big thank you to Firefly for being inspiring and making me love this pairing! I'm so, so sorry for lateness. Trust me when I say life has been hell . Beta'd by Despaired Poet.

Temari slipped into a shop doorway, hoping for a little respite from the stinging rain that assaulted her skin and flattened her blonde hair. The brightly striped awning over the entrance buckled under the force of the pelting weather, and great waves of caught rainwater rolled off and splashed to the ground in puddles. She cursed to herself. Why did I accept the Rain Country mission over the one in Rock again?

Trying to rub heat into her body, Temari ran a hand over her clothes and wasn't all that surprised to find that they were soaked through and sticking to her body. Glaring out into the storm, she wished she'd listened to the Gaara and let Kankurou take this mission instead.

A clock tower in the distance read that it was not long until midnight, and the streets were dark. What little colour there was became darkened and deadened by the rain, like her short kimono and her poor fan. Wiping raindrops from the hitae-ate in her hair, she thought – not for the first time – on the implications of this mission.

Temari had heard rumours that Akatsuki members had been spotted in this area. And while much of Suna had panicked, Gaara had simply sent someone to investigate.

That was where she came in.

Temari squeezed water out of her hair and shook droplets off of her fan. Her mind drifted to her brothers, both in dry places and probably not even realising how lucky they were. She smiled to herself as the rain fell around her.

A tingle shot up her spine, and Temari's mind wiped clean. The rain was tapering off, the sky resting and re-gathering ammunition ready for its next sporadic attack. Every little drip that fell from the awning fell to the ground with a boom, the silent buzzing of the bare streets pressing in on her from all sides.

Swallowing, she forced herself to remain still and calm. But it seemed that more she tried to tune her ears to the silence, the more unwanted little noises she picked up. Trying to ignore the drip, drip, drip of Rain's eternal weather, she stared blankly into the distance and heightened her other senses, feeding a little chakra around her body to enhance perception. As the physical feeling of her body faded to the background, a rush of warmth filled her until she felt that she was cushioned on all sides by some kind of air that sent small rushes of heat through her.

There was a faint smell…something subtly sharp, sweet and metallic – familiar. She very nearly broke her meditative state when she realised that she was smelling blood. Clenching a fist, she continued to stare blankly into nothingness, not seeing anything but the images her other senses presented her. Now her ears were picking up the scuffs of feet coming towards her. The sound was so faint and so controlled that she probably wouldn't have picked up on it outside of her meditation until they'd been right on top of her.  
S  
he knew now that whoever was there was coming towards her. The scent of blood inclined her to believe they were hostile. And what's more…the precision of the movements, the surety in the almost inaudible steps implied that this was a warrior, a shinobi. In that case…rather than it being her show of skill, had they wanted her to pick up on their movement?

Temari's eyes narrowed, breaking her meditation. The heat slipped away, leaving her once more cold and wet, her hair frizzing and becoming greasy from the water's assault. Shivering slightly, she considered her options.

She could run for it, but retreat had never been a word in her dictionary. She could charge the shinobi, and possibly have the element of surprise…she was confident in her skills, and felt that this was probably her best option, considering pride (and maybe the skill of the other ninja) blocked the first idea.

Cracking her neck, Temari crouched, waiting. She slowed her breathing so that the little puffs of vapour didn't give her away, even though she had the funny feeling the other ninja knew she was there anyway. As she felt the other person approaching, she gripped her fan and sprang.

Although there was no rain for the time being, it felt as though she had crossed some sort of barrier when she jumped from under the awning and into the street.

Standing up straight, she watched as the shadowy shape stopped four feet away from her, the lazy movements telling her – much to her annoyance – that the shinobi had known she'd do this. Under the faint light of the rounded street lanterns, her eyes picked out what they could about her opponent.

He was male – she could tell that without focusing, because the broad frame and flattering muscle-pattern highlighted by the white glow from the lamps sent shivers down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold. His outfit was strange – it was like a one-shouldered kimono. In spite of dewy raindrops gathered on the pale skin, he showed no outward sign of being cold.

An unrecognisable hitae-ate hung around his neck, and in trying to recognise the emblem, Temari's heart jumped when she noticed a harshly scratched line through the engravings. The first alarm went off in her head.

A shock of slicked back hair that could have been white or blonde (in this light, nothing was that discernible) glowed brightly. The light highlighted just a little bit of a wonderfully masculine facial structure. Try as she might, his whole face eluded her.

A glint drew her eye next, and she saw that in one hand he wielded a huge, triple-bladed scythe, its crimson blades throwing the streetlight into Temari's eyes and exacerbating her growing fear. The second alarm went up.

It was then that she noticed it. He wasn't wearing a kimono…oh no. His was some sort of outfit – a long coat - that had gotten torn. But that wasn't what struck her. What struck her was the soft black material with little red clouds on it, which billowed around his legs in the tempestuous breeze.

The final alarm went off in her head.

Positioning herself into a fighting pose, she sincerely hoped whatever ideas she'd gotten of him coming for her specifically had been bullshit. If he had come for her, then the chances were that he knew something and it took away some of her advantage.

Temari hissed through her teeth. She hadn't actually expected there to be an Akatsuki in Rain by the time she got there and spoke to the officials. She felt completely unprepared.

"Little far from home, aren't you Suna?" He asked, voice upbeat but darkly amused. She didn't reply – couldn't reply. Her whole body had frozen and only the part of her mind still working was bailing like a rat on a sinking ship.

He tilted his head slightly to the side, and a flash of electric violet eyes made her visibly shiver. His mocking smirk (what she could see of it) grew into a full-out grin, and he shifted the scythe in his hand casually. "Not a talker, huh? How refreshing. Well, I'm Hidan. So pleased."

Seems like you'll talk enough for the both of us, she thought weakly.

"But seriously. You're Temari, right? I've been looking for you."

"Eh?" Temari couldn't help but yell her surprise. "What?"

"Not so loud, jeez," he muttered irritably.

"Why?" Temari asked, completely confused.

"Because my ears – "

"Why are you looking for me?" She snapped.

He stared at her for a few beats. "I have my reasons, Suna. You gonna attack me? You look like a bitch. If you are, just hurry up and attack already – it's cold."

She'd never met an Akatsuki, and had only seen one from a distance when Gaara was fighting one who was flying around on a giant bird. She'd heard a lot about them though. Everyone described them in such serious tones of voice and with such fear.

And they'd killed her brother. It had led her to fear and loathe them.

This guy's whining had snapped those opinions in two.

"Oh, I'll attack you," Temari grinned – though it was more of a grimace. "And I'll torture out of you every little reason for why you'd want to come after me."

Hidan's brow furrowed and a strange, almost petulant look flashed over his handsome features, before the smirk stretched across them again. "Promise?"

Her eyes widened and he stepped forward slightly. The movement was small, but enough to bathe him completely in light. Even though his muscles were nicely formed and appealing, his ribs stuck out in a way that surely wasn't normal. If the rest of his form didn't belie it, she'd have thought he was some sort of anorexic. A pendant hung around his neck…a circle with a triangle inside it. It caught the light and shone darkly.

"Sick fuck," Temari breathed, settling into a better fighting stance and holding her fan at the ready. Tall and broad aside, he looked pretty fragile. If she used a strong enough jutsu, maybe his physique would count against him.

"Normally, I wouldn't bother hunting out someone like you," Hidan continued. "But seriously. I just couldn't help myself." A glint appeared in his eyes…one that could have been murderous and yet seemed more mischievous then that. Temari shifted, finding that her tense posture was sending cramps through her calf. As she did so, the lamplight fell across her, and the violet eyes fell from her face. Confused, she followed his gaze and realised in annoyance that the wet fabric of her black kimono did nothing to hide her natural reaction to the cold.

To move her arm around her breast would show embarrassment. To not do anything could give off the wrong kind of signals. Feeling angry beyond comprehension, Temari glared. "Come on then, asshole – or is that weapon just for show? Lacking in other departments, are we?"

Hidan's lips drew back into an angry snarl, and he brandished his scythe in front of him. "Fuck you, whore! I bet the biggest you ever got was from a hunk of plastic, you piece of shit."

A deep blush filled her cheeks and, with a snarl, she charged towards him. Her speed was deadly, her jump precise, and her plan was to whip around and catch him with a blast of her fan from behind while he was still lunging. As she neared, time seemed to slow down. She saw the ripple of his muscles, his outreached naked arm tight and corded from gripping the scythe. His hair was silver, somehow looking almost pearlescent in the night's glow. It suited his profile perfectly, with his strong nose, neat brows and intense eyes.

She prepared herself to whip around him, when his eyes suddenly slid towards her. Temari's heart jumped painfully, and Hidan spun quickly, forcing her to touch the ground with her gloved hand and flip herself sideways, barely managing to propel herself out of the way of the three blades.

In a series of quick movements she could barely make out, she had to drop her fan and skid backwards, still crouched from her landing to avoid the scythe as all three blades crashed into the ground, throwing up chunks of paving and cement.

Temari's wide eyes moved up the length of the weapon to Hidan's grinning face. "Not bad for a little Suna slut. Jashin-sama would be pleased if you were a sacrifice."

Jashin…oh god. Shikamaru had told her about this man, this…thing. He was meant to be buried in the Nara forest back in Leaf, not here in fucking Rain fighting with her. This guy was – unbeatable. Invulnerable.

Freezing up, Temari stared at him with horrified eyes, and he threw his head back and laughed uproariously. "Know who I am, Temari-chan? Good, that makes this easier."

With extraordinary strength, he pulled the scythe free of the ground and swung it at her again. Unprepared for all her shock, she shifted at the last minute, swinging onto her hands and mule-kicking her legs. With a little chakra to her feet, she managed to kick the scythe away, grab her fan and roll to her feet with a healthy distance between them.

Hidan moved to grip the rope at the end of his scythe, but rather than swing it, he watched her with a curious little smile. Temari's breath came in harsh bursts, little white clouds on the wind like a burnt-out dragon. She was quick, she had the moves, but she didn't have the durability.

I don't have a choice. I have to use Kirikiri already.

Temari swung her fan. "KIRIKIRI!"

The small ferret spun out with its scythes.

Hidan raised a curious eyebrow. He was about to question her when the scythes all seemed to attack him at once. He gritted his teeth as pain assaulted his body. He felt delirious as one of his arms was cut from his body.

Temari tensed as the jutsu ended. To her mounting horror, she saw that some of the blades had been deflected by his amazingly strong scythe. The others that had gotten him...had gotten him bad. But aside from a missing arm, and aside from the fact that she could actually see some of his bone in places, he was still standing.

"I see," Hidan called cheerfully. "You're not as much of a pushover as I expected you to be. Maybe you're not such a worthless piece of shit after all."

Temari growled, bringing a spark of laughter from the Akatsuki member. He shifted position, suddenly looking like he meant business, and she tensed, preparing to throw more of her cards. Just as his lips parted to speak, he suddenly looked to the side, furrowed his brow and cursed.

"Dammit!" He yelled. "Can't it fucking wait?"

Uh…what? Temari thought, eyebrows shooting up in alarm. She'd figured this guy wasn't playing with a full deck, but she wasn't expecting this.

"You wouldn't understand," Hidan snapped. "It's my religion, I have to…what? Oh, FINE." She expected him to stamp his foot and pout, but instead, he rose up to his full height and pulled his scythe back, no longer appearing aggressive. Confused, she tensed and narrowed her eyes at him.

His eyes roved over her form and a flush washed over her body, raising anger at her own embarrassment. With a little smirk he said, "You did pretty good. I'll be back later to finish you off. See ya!"

Off all things to expect, him walking away was not one of them. As he disappeared from sight and rain once again began to fall down, Temari's heart continued to slam against her ribcage as she waited for some sort of trick to become unveiled.

Why had he come after her? Was it because...because of Shikamaru? She'd had a brief fling with Shikamaru and they'd stayed close friends. It would only be natural for an enemy of him to go after her.

When she became sure he wasn't around, Temari began to panic. Did he really mean that – come back to finish her off?

She strapped her fan to her back. Shaking, and not just from the cold, Temari suddenly had a very clear of idea – an eye-witness, hands-on idea – of what the world was up against. Deciding it would be too dangerous to travel back to Suna now, she felt that she should find an inn and try to settle down.

And she'd have to hope that Hidan wouldn't come back for her.


End file.
